New Horizon School, Irvine received 3 out of 5 top awards for 5th and 6th grade in The Hassan Hathout Foundation Essay Contest!

New Horizon School, Irvine’s fifth and sixth grade students participated in the seventh annual Hassan Hathout Legacy Foundation’s essay contest. The Hassan Hathout Legacy Foundation is an educational nonprofit organization whose mission is to spread the message of ‘Love in God’ through the work and legacy of Hassan Hathout. This year, students were asked to submit an essay titled “How to Grow a Loving Heart” in which they describe how this topic relates to a personal activity or experience, historic event, or current world event.

The contest expanded on the national level to include numerous distant states. We are pleased to announce that THREE students from our fifth and sixth grades were selected as winners!

We’d like to congratulate Susan, Iman, and Ranya for their hard work and truly inspirational writing. The following are excerpts from the students’ essays:

“Another] thing you have to do to grow a loving heart is to spread the word. Martin Luther King Jr. is a great example of someone spreading the word. He once said, “ Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” This quote simply means that if someone treats you badly you should treat them with kindness. He first saw that people, including himself, were living with racism. He knew this was wrong, which is the first step in how to grow a loving heart. Then he gathered people who agreed with him to spread the word. When he had enough people, he made really powerful speeches that inspired people to fight racism and put an end to discrimination.”

– Susan, New Horizon School, Irvine, Winner

“A loving heart means that you are someone who cares and does something, no matter how small, to fix the problems happening in the world, like the Syrian Civil War. I have personally reflected about the suffering that the Syrians are going through and the privileges that I have. Just by being self-aware, I grew a loving heart. I started with myself and took some action. I donated some money to a charity based organization that provides food, water, and shelter to the refugees of the world. I also volunteered at a charity event that specifically gives Syrian refugees assistance here in the United States. No matter how small your actions may seem, starting with yourself is the first step to grow a loving heart. If more people did small actions like that, the impact would be huge.”

– Ranya, New Horizon School, Irvine, Winner

“Leonardo da Vinci, a famous Italian painter, beautifully depicted his feelings into words saying, “Tears come from the heart and not from the brain.” Our hearts generate emotions which guide our choices and who we become as human beings. Leonardo da Vinci chose to use the heart to express the emotion of tears rather than the brain because as humans, we lean toward guidance from our hearts before relying on our minds. The heart has the potential to project both love, or hate fueled by fear. What most do not know is that the love in one’s heart is more powerful than millions united in hate. People united in hate amount to nothing but fear of others. What persuades hate is fear, and fear stems from having a negative mindset.

Overall, a loving heart is what humanity lives for and it is what builds brotherhood throughout our world. Step back and look at society. The wealthy are poor without compassion; the intelligent are foolish without awareness; the strong are weak without kindness. These diseases negatively impact our minds and hearts, and without a loving heart, none of these illnesses will ever truly be cured.”

-Iman, New Horizon School, Irvine, Winner

We hope these students will continue to inspire us all to “grow a loving heart” and make the world a better place for our children. A special event will be held for the top contestants where each will receive a monetary award.
We’d also like to thank their teachers for their commitment and dedication in educating the leaders of tomorrow, inshAllah.